tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-439331035718369167.post5568576783038154491..comments2024-02-09T02:48:13.776-06:00Comments on Daily Meditations with Fr. Alfonse: Mt 16:21-27 You Make Us BraveFr. Alfonsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02557206560119402976noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-439331035718369167.post-71809521754914898892014-09-03T12:53:43.850-05:002014-09-03T12:53:43.850-05:00....in response, maybe. I had understood Peter.......in response, maybe. I had understood Peter's comment as one that came from a loving heart, even if not fully understanding. I liken it to when someone feels a calling to a "crazy idea" like a less luxurious career change, or traveling to a dangerous place to help the people there, and the people closest to them react in worry...and would prefer for them not to go. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-439331035718369167.post-20363959879424540402014-09-01T17:01:55.552-05:002014-09-01T17:01:55.552-05:00"Peter's refusal to accept God's Will..."Peter's refusal to accept God's Will was a good example of someone scraping the surface in a relationship. He could only understand Christ's pain and suffering, not His sacrifice and love."<br /><br />Father:<br /><br />You may be correct that Peter's comment was someone scraping the surface in a relationship, but I think it may have been more than that. This reading comes on the heels of Peter being instated as the "rock" of the Church. Now Peter does a 180 and treats the Lord as a child, telling him what to do. Don't go to Jerusalem...Why? Perhaps it is because, Peter, like all of us, wants to live the Christian life without the cross, without sacrificial, suffering love. We want to follow the Jesus of our imaginations, the Jesus of our piety--the one that is waiting for us at Sunday Mass within the confines of a safe church--the one who does not stand up amidst a culture of death, the one that is easy.<br /><br />Jesus says to Peter, get behind me Satan, not just go away Peter. Jesus knows the only way to the Divine Love is through the Cross. We can't just walk the path of self-protection--we need to take up our cross and walk the path of suffering love which will inevitably entail rejection and rebuke by the world. We need to make a choice. "What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com